Preconditioning techniques in frame theory and probabilistic frames

Abstract: In this chapter we survey two topics that have recently been investigated in frame theory. First, we give an overview of the class of scalable frames. These are (finite) frames with the property that each frame vector can be rescaled in such a way that the resulting frames are tight. This process can be thought of as a preconditioning method for finite frames. In particular, we: (1) describe the class of scalable frames; (2) formulate various equivalent characterizations of scalable frames, and relate the scalability problem to the Fritz John ellipsoid theorem. Next, we discuss some results on a probabilistic interpretation of frames. In this setting, we: (4) define probabilistic frames as a generalization of frames and as a subclass of continuous frames; (5) review the properties of certain potential functions whose minimizers are frames with certain optimality properties. The chapter is based on a lecture given by the author at the AMS 2015 Short Course on Finite Frame Theory: A Complete Introduction to Overcompleteness.